Zero Percent
by miscellmaniac
Summary: She's not a new girl. She's not a family friend. The two have known each other throughout high school, but don't exist out of the classes they have together. What happens when a project forces them to spend time together, outside of class?
1. You Again?

Out of all the classes she had, pre-calculus had to be the first one scheduled on the first day of school. It would have been fine if it had been English III or another simple subject, but it had to be math. The chances were that the teacher was just going to give an introduction on him and his life and a summary of the course, but the atmosphere still felt dull and dreary like math. Either way, everyone was stuck in a class room for the next two hours or so, just listening to a boring old man (or woman, in some cases) speak ABOUT the course not the course itself. Talking about the course is even worse than talking about the course itself.

The girl crossed one arm over the other on top of her desk. She lowered her head onto her arms and rested. She closed her eyes with her lengthy eyelashes fluttering. She was already letting herself doze off into a dream-filled sleep once more. The bell rang, but that didn't force her to open her eyes. She needed just five more minutes of sleep and then she would be well rested and good to go. She had spent the past night mainly on the computer, learning more about the guitar and the technology behind it.

What woke her up was the sound of the door bursting open after a long silence had befallen the class. She nearly jolted up with her usually striking emerald eyes glazed over. She rubbed her head as a headache due to her sleepiness set in her head. She closed her eyes and heard that whoever had made that sound was now sitting behind her. She figured because she heard the desk from behind her squeak and the sound of a backpack being set on the floor.

She wanted to know who had woke her up so she turned around only to see the same face she had seen her whole high school life. The same careless expression was on his features. He seemed to be uninterested in her, until she spoke in a nonchalant tone of voice, "You haven't changed a bit."

His eyes darted from the whiteboard at the very front of the room to her. A smug smirk drew on his face and he then retorted, "Nice bedhead." With that, he crossed his arms behind the back of his neck and leaned back in his chair.

Instantly, the girl began to fix her hair and she slowly turned around. She felt a warmth crawl onto her face. She quickly matted down her hair and ran her fingers through the loose waves of her auburn colored mess. She hoped that would suffice. Looking messy was not going to work for her. She had to look her best, as if she was going to be read for a photo shoot at any moment. "Thanks." She sarcastically muttered to Rodrick, her class mate. It was hard to believe that he was a year older than her. He acted like he was still in grade ten. She rolled her eyes and lightly smiled as she thought.

The teacher strolled in with a messenger back on one side and a stack of papers on the other. "Sorry for being late, my car wouldn't start up this morning. Not the greatest way to begin the school year." It was almost as if he was talking to himself, seeing as the students were less than interested in his excuse. The teacher, looking about the age of fifty, began to pass out the papers that he had been holding. It was just a paper that explained the course and what they would be going over for the semester.

When she got her paper, the girl knew she had no time to rest. She had to do her best to listen to the teacher. What good first impression would she have made if she just dozed off in his class? She rubbed her eyes, hoping that would keep her eyes open. She couldn't help but have her mind wander during the whole time he was lecturing about the curriculum. She would tune in and tune out and catch several pieces of information.

It wasn't until the bell rang that she was ultimately snapped into reality. She looked at the syllabus on her desk and picked it up, as well as her strawberry, pin decorated backpack. She slung the backpack over her shoulder. She was walking away from her desk when she heard her name being called.

"Hey Niks," Called out Rodrick from the spot near his desk.

"It's Nikki, and what Heffley?" Nikki asked as she turned around while attempting to walk backwards. She stopped when her hip bumped into the front desk. She didn't really like calling him by his last name, but just as she didn't like the nickname Niks, he didn't like being addressed by his last name.

"Can I copy whatever homework he handed out? I'm a little sick, so-" Rodrick threw hand motions around to illustrate his words.

"Old excuse and he didn't even assign us anything. It's the first day, remember?" Nikki shook her head and let a smile appear on her face as she heard Rodrick. It was a routine with him. She didn't like to let him cheat, but she would let him get SOME answers last year in their previous math course. She was a grade eleven, him a grade twelve. But seeing as she was implemented in higher scholar courses when she was younger, it gave her a head start by a year. Their schedule was practically the same, minus electives.

Outside of the classes though, it was like they never existed to each other. He had his own friends, she had hers. They stayed out of each other's way and that was fine. She was busy with her extracurricular activities and he with his band. The two weren't exactly close friends, but they had some sort of friendship between them..


	2. Four Eyes and Rock Stars

A.N.: So wow! Thanks for all the subscriptions! I'm really going to enjoy writing this story.. Let me know if it's going to slow or if I'm writing a lot. w;; Feedback is much appreicated!

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><p>What could they be considered? Friends? Acquaintances? She wasn't even sure what type of friendship they had.<p>

They had known each other for three full years and had several conversations in the different classes they had together over the course of high school. But their discussions stopped as soon as the bell rang for next period. They would just stop talking. Nikki couldn't remember a time he had said hi to her outside of the class room or bothered her like he would in the class. She couldn't pinpoint why they never talked. She figured it was because one was waiting for the other to talk first and it never happened, so it continued like that. A never ending cycle. Nikki had never let it bother her though seeing as Rodrick was never a close friend of hers. So could he be considered a friend in the least bit?

She remembered the first time they ever talked, but it was completely by accident. If it hadn't occurred then they probably wouldn't even speak one word to each other to this day.

She was in grade nine and he was in grade ten. As a freshman, she was still in the awkward phase of growing up and getting adjusted to teen life. Her jade colored eyes were hidden behind thick rimmed glasses and she hardly wore any makeup, except for foundation. Her fashion sense was the least to be desired. She would just throw on whatever pair of jeans and a random shirt along with her plain black converse. Her hair was short, dyed black, and styled in the shape of a modern bob. He was just entering his "rock star phase." He had gotten a choppy haircut and began to wear different band shirts every day as well as pants held up with studded belts. He would wear the occasional jet black eyeliner. His personality had remained the same. Nikki wouldn't know if he had been any different the year before when he was a freshman because she was still in middle school at the time.

"_Okay class, that is all for today. Don't forget to turn in your essays about global warming on Friday. It will count as a test grade!" The teacher called out after the bell had finished its ringing. The teens were already leaving the classroom as soon as the bell had rung, so some had missed the teacher's message._

_Nikki was still struggling with all the materials she had brought to class. She brought two binders, a book, and a handful of pencils. She wasn't sure what to bring because it was the first week of class! She was still confused about high school itself. Back in middle school, they let you carry around your backpack but in highschool, the backpack had to stay in the lockers and only a choice of items could be taken out for each class. Nikki struggled to carry everything and in an attempt to do so, dropped everything to the floor. "Crap.." She breathed as she bent over to pick her materials up._

"_Whoa, road blockage." Came a voice from above. She looked up and saw a much taller fellow hovering over her things. He crossed by stretching out his leg to the other side and then doing the same with his other leg. He was almost through walking through the space between the desks when he stopped. He had hesitated to turn around but he did anyways. He walked right back to where Nikki had been and asked, "Need any help?" Normally he would have bullied the freshman. He had been picked on so much the following year and he was supposed to get his turn this year. But he felt like he should help. It was strange, but he listened to himself anyways seeing as he knew the feeling wouldn't leave if he just walked away. Without waiting for her to respond, Rodrick bent down and picked up her book as well as her two binders. "Think you can handle the pencils?" He questioned as he eyed all the fallen pencils and then to her. "Because," Rodrick paused as he tried to think of something tough to say, "I won't help you next time!" He mentally slapped himself. That sounded absolutely ridiculous and not tough what so ever. It seemed to work though, seeing as the girl lightly shook when she got up and her bottom lip quivered a little. "Okay, okay, sorry or whatever." Rodrick looked around, hoping no one was seeing him help this freshman. "Just.. show me where your locker is." Rodrick replied, becoming exasperated by the situation. Nikki nodded and then spoke, "It's locker 709. It's really close to this classroom." Rodrick replied with a nod. He walked ahead of her to give the illusion that he was dropping off his own things. The last thing he needed was a handful of teases from his friends that were in grade eleven and twelve. _

_Nikki followed him to her locker. She was relieved that he was taking the lead (she thought it was because he wanted to show her where it was to make sure she understood) because she would probably get lost in the midst of all the other teenagers rushing to get to class. She watched Rodrick open her locker. He stopped to think about whether to throw the books carelessly inside or not. He was caught in his own road block. Why would he care what a freshman thought? Or were the endless talks about respect from his mom actually kicking in? Whatever the reason, he put the book and binders in an upright, neat position. He backed away from the locker and looked around. He then found himself looking back at Nikki, who just stared at him. "Uh, well," He felt the awkward silence between the two settle in, "see you around." He waved and then practically dashed away from her locker._

"Hey, space cadet. I asked you what number four was." Rodrick tapped on the side of Nikki's head with the end of his mechanical pencil. He had been asking her for the answer to number four for the past minute but she was so out of it.

Nikki blinked and then looked around her. "Holy crap that was messed up." Nikki shook her head to try to ease her way completely into reality instead of dream land. She looked down at her math assignment. That's right, she had finished it and had gone off into thought. Now it all made sense. She then leaned back and also threw her head back so she was viewing Rodrick upside down. "And no. All you have to do is substitute the numbers and then use that log mode on your calculator. Unless you're too prehistoric to understand how to work one." She jabbed. She returned to an upright position and then turned her whole body around so she was facing Rodrick.

Rodrick rolled his eyes. "We both know that I won't go through that effort so," Rodrick leaned forward and stretched his arms to snatch Nikki's math assignment from her desk, "I'll be taking this." He offered a smug grin as he held it beside his head. He leaned back in his chair and began to copy all the answers down in a swift motion. He had learned how to write fast after being caught an endless amount of times with his homework. In less than fifteen seconds, he had finished. He carelessly threw the paper in Nikki's direction, letting it swoop down to the floor.

"Really? It's barely the first week and you're already copying?" Nikki rolled her eyes as she bent over to pick up the paper from its spot on the ground. She put it on her desk and then turned back to Rodrick. "How can you live with yourself?" She spoke with sarcasm.

"I don't know, I thought a smart honor student like you would know." Rodrick now had a sneaky grin on his face as he retorted. "But wait, could this be? Is Little Miss Sunshine not the smartest person ever? God forbid!" Rodrick mocked her.

At first, Nikki took offense to his teasing and jokes. She didn't find them funny during freshman year. During her sophomore year, she began to warm up to them. Now, she was jabbing him right back. She wondered why they wouldn't talk outside of the course. She figured that they seemed to be friends. Nikki shook the thought out of her head and just laughed at Rodrick's reply. "I'm done talking to you, tone deaf." She stated as she turned around.

"You'll come back. They always do." Rodrick added, leaning back in his chair once more with his feet propped up on his desk. His arms were behind his neck again so he was in a relaxed posture. "They always do."


	3. The Sucker and the Poor Sap

A.N.: I might upload another chapter after this one today! I look forward to reading reviews! c:

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><p>"Okay class, it's already the third week of school and you know what that means!" The teacher's voice echoed throughout the lab room. A chorus of groans came from the students that were at their desks. If they weren't groaning, they were sleeping or simple preoccupied with something else. After the groans, the teacher stated, "Partner projects! We read about it on the syllabus on the first day. This week, we'll be working on psychology." The teacher stood up from his desk and picked up a stack of papers while he walked down the aisles of desks, passing out the packets of paper. The room grew silent as each student picked up the packet of paper and looked over it.<p>

"The project is going to be out studying your partner! Find out how their mind works.. Don't be afraid to get too personal with the questions. Study them like they were specimens. Everyone understand?" Silence was still among the class room and the teacher took that as a yes, "Well, if there are no further questions, I will now assign you your partner!" Another chorus of groans ensued.

"What a lame project." Rodrick muttered as he propped his feet on the desk. He crossed his arms over his chest as he watched the teacher, Mr. Robertson, call out names from a paper he had in his hands.

Nikki turned around and scoffed. "You probably just don't get it." She stayed turned around and looked at Rodrick in the eyes. "Either that, or you were just hoping to ask Heather as your partner." A coy smile appeared on her lips as she spoke. "Am I right, or am I right?"

"Oh mind your own business, sweetheart." Rodrick countered with a smirk on his own lips. "And I do get the projects; I just never do them." Rodrick added as he nodded. "When I actually DO the projects, it's not pretty. Trust me." Rodrick thought of his last minute project about plants. He actually did the project, but still failed. He wondered how that worked out.

Nikki rose an eyebrow at this but didn't question him any further. Knowing him, he probably tried to center every project about rock music or something having to do with girls. "Boy, I feel bad for the poor sucker that's going to be your partner." She teased while sticking her tongue out in between her white as snow teeth.

"Yeah yeah, I feel bad for the person who has to be your partner." He replied back while stretching an arm forward to mess with the top of her head.

"Rodrick Heffley with," Mr. Robertson paused and then looked back up from his sheet, "Nicole Williams?" Even the teacher seemed surprised with the match up. The two were complete opposites when it came to grades. Rodrick hardly ever turned anything in and when he did, it was never his own original work; rather it was someone else's he copied off from. Nikki would do her best in all of her classes and turn in her work on time.

Nikki quickly turned around from her spot with her mouth ajar. She closed her mouth and cleared her throat. She fixed her hair and then spoke, "Well, looks like I'm the sucker that's stuck with you." She offered an awkward soft laugh after she spoke.

"And looks like I'm the poor sap stuck with you." Rodrick replied. His facial expression as well as his tone of voice showed a mix of surprise, amusement, and pleasure. If he was partners with Nikki, then that would mean the work load would be easier on him.

"I'll give you time for the rest of the class to discuss on your plans for the project!" Mr. Robertson sat back down at his desk, taking the free time to grade papers.

Nikki stood and turned her chair around so she could sit properly while facing Rodrick instead of having to turn around all the time. The strain was really taking a load on her back. She sat down on the chair and brought her papers to his desk. "So, um." She tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear, "I guess we have to study each other?" She was still taken back that her and Rodrick would have to work on this project together. They never talked outside of the classes they had together, let alone hang out outside of school. She found this predicament awkward. She was afraid that the two would have nothing in common outside of the classroom and just spend the whole time working (or trying to, in Rodrick's case.)

Rodrick chuckled, "We'll see how _that_ works out." Rodrick leaned back in his chair and watched Nikki as she looked through all the papers. He was pretty pleased with the project so far until he realized they would have to spend so much time together. It wasn't that he didn't like Nikki. They were somewhat friends, weren't they? But they just didn't fit on the social chain. She had a totally different style of his, or at least that's what he was guessing. They had completely different friends. His friends were total rockers, like him. They headbanged and went to every concert they could possibly go to. Rodrick guessed that her friends were girly and frail. He knew that if he was even seen with Nikki, his friends would have a riot and make fun of the two. Rodrick grew uneasy about the project. All the years of him building up his status with his rocker friends could amount to nothing after just one glance at the two being together (as partners, anyways.)

"You okay? You look kind of scared." Nikki stated, snapping Rodrick from his thoughts. She watched as Rodrick seemed to snap back into reality. She smiled, "You looked really scared. It looked hilarious." She softly laughed at that. Rodrick? Scared of something? Please. "So, this project is due in two weeks.. We should get started right away. Maybe after school?" Nikki suggested.

Rodrick couldn't say no. He couldn't just weasel out of this project. From what he learned from their conversations was that Nikki was incredibly stubborn, especially with school work. "That sounds cool." He replied in a casual tone.

"My house or yours?" Nikki asked as she put down her packet of papers.

"Yours. Let's see your realm of torture." Rodrick smirked. He finally decided to calm down because he had a genius plan in the works. If he could get all the project meetings to be at her place, no one would know. They wouldn't have to talk outside of their classes, only at her house. His house would become too complicated, because his friends showed up at random times throughout the day, wanting to practice or show their new equipment.

"Mine? Okay then. You have a car, don't you? You can drive me home then."

"Let's see if you can handle it." Rodrick replied with a sneaky smile playing on his lips. "That car has a way with girls."

"If it's anything like you, I'm sure it does."


	4. Lady Killer

"Yeah, this is one lady killer of a car.. And by that I mean it literally. The smell could kill someone." Spoke Nikki as her and Rodrick stood in front of his dirty white van. The black colored words, "Loded Diper," were beginning to fade, probably because it had been on there for the longest time. The two hadn't even stepped foot in the car but Nikki already had to pinch her nose to avoid the overwhelming smell. "Ever heard of cleaning?" She spoke after releasing her nose so she could breathe properly through her mouth. Breathing from her mouth was disgusting, but she didn't want to indulge in the putrid smell.

"Make fun of it all you want, I see it as preparation for when the band really kicks off." Rodrick replied as he walked to the opposite side of the car as he pulled a ring of keys from his pocket. He flipped through several keys before finding the key that belonged to the trashy van. He unlocked his door and sat himself down before reaching over to unlock the passenger's door. He hopped back into his seat and plugged the car key in to start the car. He didn't even wait to Nikki to buckle in before he took off. "What street do you live on?" He asked after making a quick u-turn on the road to head away from the school.

Nikki hit the side of the car and yelped. "Ouch! Could you go any faster?" She exclaimed as she rubbed the top of her head. "And it's 2156 Graham." She replied after she adjusted herself. She pulled on the seat belt and noticed that the buckle wasn't there. In fact, the seat belt was torn! She groaned. "What a death trap." She murmured under her breath while shaking her head.

"You'll learn to love it." Rodrick replied with a grin on his face. He stomped his foot down on the brakes when he saw a red light up ahead. Nikki nearly fell over and almost hit her head on the dash board because of the harsh brake. "Whoops." He merely stated with the same grin on his face. He looked over to the radio and turned the knob to tune the radio to the local alternative-rock station. He then turned the knob almost all the way up on the volume range. He turned and expected Nikki to groan in disgust. But instead, she yelled, "Cage the Elephant? Nice!" Rodrick was surprised. Nikki didn't look like the type that would listen to this type of music. She looked like the person that wouldn't know a thing about "true" music. But there she was, rocking her head to the rhythm of the song. It was a nice surprise though; perhaps the project would run more smoothly if the two had more than one thing in common that didn't involve class.

"This your house?" Rodrick asked as he slowed down (something Nikki didn't think he could possibly do) in front of a modern, two-story, suburban home. When Nikki gave him the okay, he parked in the empty space next to a bright yellow Hummer. "Nice place." He commented as he turned off the car and took his key out. He slammed his door shut and waited for Nikki in the front of his van. Nikki followed in suit and led the way to the front door of her home. She pulled out her own set of keys and unlocked her front door, leading Rodrick into a hallway that took them to several portions of the house. "Guess we should work on this in my room?" Nikki suggested as she turned around for a brief moment after walking a few feet into the hallway.

Before Rodrick could reply, Nikki's mother stepped into the room from the kitchen. She had oven mittens on her hands and an oven plate with freshly baked cookies in her hands. She looked surprised that Nikki had brought a guy over. "Who is this Nikki?" Her mother asked as she turned to properly face the two. "You didn't tell me you were having someone over." She added with a small smile on her face.

"Oh, just a friend from school. We have to work on a project together and the teacher just told us today." Nikki replied. "And we were just leaving, right?" Nikki always felt awkward when introducing her friends to her mother, especially if it was a guy friend. Nikki's mother was always over-protective of her and would always assume that any guy she brought over was more than a friend.

"Oh, uh, okay then dear.." Nikki's mother watched as Nikki disappeared after turning a corner from the hallway with Rodrick following her. Nikki's mother sighed and shook her head. "He looks like bad news.." She murmured under her breath as she walked back into the kitchen.

"Yeah, that was my mom." Nikki stated after an awkward silence set in between the two. Nikki opened the door to her room. She plopped herself on her queen size bed. She slipped her backpack strap off her shoulder and opened it, emptying its contents on her cherry blossom bed covering. "So, the first question is to find out what kind of home you live in."

"So this is really your room?" Rodrick asked, completely blowing off the project. Rodrick chuckled, "I expected something more.. girly." Rodrick confessed.

"Just because I like to look presentable doesn't mean I'm girly. Face it Rodrick, you know absolutely nothing about me." Nikki replied with a smile on her face. "For example, I bet you didn't know I love to play video games."

"Please, now you're sounding like my brother. You'll surprise me when you say you can play guitar or something." Rodrick replied, waving his hand off to symbolically show that her "confession" wasn't too big.

"Oh really? Well I can." Nikki countered as she pointed to her guitar case that was set against the same wall where her closet was. "Anything else you want to add, Rodrick?"

Rodrick stared at the guitar case for a while, still flabbergasted at the idea that she played. He swallowed and straightened out his black band shirt. "Yeah, no." He shook his head and chuckled. He ran fingers through his hair as he continued to explore Nikki's room. Most of the wall was covered with photos and news articles. He didn't analyze the articles, but he took a good look at some of the pictures. "Hey, is this a "For the Taking" concert?" He questioned.

Nikki looked up from the packet of papers and nodded as she looked at the photo he was pointing at. "Yeah, that was last summer." Nikki spoke. She giggled and then spoke again, "Can we please start working on this project already? Let's at least answer the first five questions!" Nikki looked through the packet and then back up at Rodrick. "First question is about your family and what not. So what's your family like?"

Rodrick sat down on Nikki's bed and fumbled with his own packet before answering, "Uh, I have two little brothers. My mom is.. uh.." Rodrick struggled to put his family into words. They were all odd and embarrassing in their own ways. "Why don't we start with you first?" Rodrick quickly changed the subject and looked from his own packet of papers. He stole a pencil that had fallen out of Nikki's bag and was ready to write whatever Nikki spoke.

"Okay then? Uh, well, I have three older brothers who are all off to college doing different things. The oldest one is on a football scholarship. The middle one is going for some science degree and the youngest one is going for some art major. I grew up with my parents, until they divorced when I was nine. My mom remarried when I was thirteen and now we live here." Nikki smiled, "I've lived in three different states: Texas, Florida, and now here!" Nikki nodded, "I think that's enough. Did you get all that?"

"Three older brothers.. what was that other thing?"


	5. Totally Whipped

"How is it that you can copy notes so fast but take forever to write down a few sentences?" Nikki leaned against the headboard of her bed as she crossed her arms over her chest and folded on leg over the other. She watched as Rodrick held the notepad close his face as he propped his knee up against his chest while the other hung loose at the end of the bed. "I've seen the way you write in pre-cal, it's inhuman." She added with a small smirk playing on her pink lips.

"That's different. I write fast for myself. Since this is for you, I can certainly take my time. And cue elevator music, now!" Rodrick tapped the air with the eraser end of his pencil as a grin overtook his features. In response to this, Nikki threw him a binder she had quickly taken out of her strawberry backpack. Rodrick lifted his hands to protect his face, but the binder had hit his stomach. Rodrick chuckled and rolled his eyes. "As if that would really hurt." Another binder was sent flying and hit him straight in the face. "Damn, are you trying to kill me?" He questioned.

"Did you at least finish with the third question's answer already? Or do I have to repeat myself a tenth time?' Nikki wished she was kidding about the number of times she had to repeat herself, but she really wasn't. Rodrick wasn't paying attention the first couple of times and the last two times, he had only gotten the first sentence out of the five she spoke. Nikki picked at the nail polish on her nails and heard a "mmhm" from Rodrick. She sighed, mainly due to her growing impatience with the boy. "Okay, the third question was about my hobbies. What do you have?" Nikki asked him.

Rodrick hit the words on the notepad with the end of his pencil once more as he read out loud, "Singing, playing the guitar, and working with computers. Can't we just put that?" Rodrick asked as he threw the notepad and pencil to the bed. The items lightly bounced against the bed's comforter. Rodrick was already growing impatient himself, but mainly because he wanted to go home to work on the artwork for Loded Diper's album.

"No! He probably wants a whole list of hobbies and for us to go on about each one!" Nikki argued but then she thought about it. Three was enough, right? And it was easy to elaborate on the three she had listed. Besides, those were her main hobbies while the other ones she had listed took a backseat and were things she only did when she really felt like it (which was rare.) "No, I guess you're right." Nikki stated, feeling defeat. She picked up the paper that the teacher issued them that had all the questions they must answer. There were ten, so her and Rodrick just needed seven more which included the next one they moved on to. "Can we at least do two more questions? That way tomorrow we can-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, tomorrow?" Rodrick stopped her. He sat up straight and rose his hand as he created movements to go along with what he was about to say. It was a terrible habit of his. "I have band practice tomorrow. So Tuesday is a no go." Rodrick told her with a serious look on his face. There was no way he could miss band practice seeing as it was held at his house and it was the only time his mom gave him time to "express himself" as she put it. He couldn't just bail on his buddies. Besides, what would his excuse be? "I have to work on a project?" No way! For one, Rodrick never did projects. This was a one-time thing because he had to be partnered up with Nikki, the most stubborn, but smart girl he had ever met.

"Uh, yeah tomorrow. We should have this done by Friday, at least." Nikki replied with a tone that showed her defiance towards Rodrick's decision.

"But it's not due until next week!" Rodrick argued. "We still have time. It's not like he'll take it when we're done with it anyways! Why rush?" Rodrick assumed that Nikki wanted to do the project throughout the week, every single day. Could he even handle that? He could hardly handle being at school for more than five minutes!

"Just to get it done! If you must know, I have things to do on the weekend so that takes that time away, so we only have to work on it this week." Nikki replied, avoiding to look in Rodrick's eyes.

Rodrick's brows narrowed and he realized that this argument wouldn't end. It would be a vicious circle and he knew that Nikki would have the last laugh. Rodrick groaned at what he was about to say. "Fine, fine, okay! We'll work tomorrow, but only until six! Then I have to go." Rodrick wiped his face downward with the palm of his hand as he mentally kicked himself for giving in. _"I'm totally whipped and she's not even my girlfriend." _He thought.

"Then it's settled. Tomorrow, we'll meet at my house again and then on Wednesday and Thursday, we can go to your house." Nikki had already planned this in the mental journal that resided in her mind, which is why she was so stubborn on keeping it that way. She heavily disliked change, even if it was the littlest detail.

"Geez, you act as if you have a stick up y-" A reading book shot from Nikki's hands and vigorously slapped Rodrick across his face.


	6. What's an Acquaintance to Do?

Haha, wow! The reviews you guys write on here are very motivating. My main reason for writing this story was actually because I too was fed up with all these Mary-Sue oc's. So, thank you for realizing that and I hope I can continue to write to your liking! C; BTW, sorry if this seems more directed towards Nikki and Rodrick seems kind of out of character here. Dx It's 3 A.M. and I really wanted to put up this chapter!

-x-

Slamming the door shut to the Loded Diper mobile, Rodrick yelled to the other side of the van, "Remember, only until six!" Rodrick had to keep reminding himself throughout the day that the faster they worked on the project, the sooner it would all be over and everything would return to normal- or as normal as his own life could get.

Nikki pushed open the passenger door, stepping her feet out cautiously to the sidewalk. She wiggled her foot as she tried to get what appeared to be a candy wrapper coated with melted chocolate off her black, faux leather boots. "What the hell, the least you could do is clean it out every week!" She yelled in response as she slid her foot with the dirty boot across the sidewalk, trying to wipe it out. "Or pay someone. Even then, I don't think I would clean that up for money." Nikki spoke in a normal volume now that Rodrick had caught up with her at the sidewalk in front of her house. "If we work well, we can finish up three more questions, leaving us with only four more to go." She advised as she tilted her head to one side to pop the aching muscles in her neck. She gripped at the strap of her backpack as she walked up to her front door, along with Rodrick. She turned the knob and pushed it open.

She could hear her mother talking on the phone in a raised, irritated voice but as soon as the door emitted a creaking noise, her tone hushed. It sounded like she had been using the cordless house phone in the kitchen, but Nikki couldn't be too sure.

Nonetheless, Nikki knew it was probably the same old situation and she didn't want to be troubled with it. Nikki sighed and shook her head. "Uh, c'mon, let's just go upstairs." Nikki guided, looking back to see Rodrick with a puzzled expression on his face. She looked forward once more and led him up to her room, closing the door behind him once he entered.

"What was that all about?" Rodrick asked, dropping his ragged, old backpack to the floor. It wasn't that he was going to ramble on about his advice for her after hearing the story, no not at all. Rodrick would probably be dead first before he actually gave anyone real, serious advice. No, he just wanted to know for the sake of knowing. The two weren't that close, at least not as close to the point where they could spill their guts out to each other. That was what led Rodrick to assume that she wouldn't even tell him to begin with.

With another heavy sigh, Nikki turned around after she had walked to her bed and spoke, "It's probably my dad, or something." She answered simply as she let her body fall against her bed. She bounced lightly before she scooted her position so she was slumped against the headboards. "I spend my weekends with him and he probably called with some lame excuse. My mom wouldn't sound that upset over anything." Nikki bit the bottom of her lip and she tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear. "But it's no biggie, it's been six years anyways so it's practically numb now." Nikki unzipped open her backpack, pulling out a folder that carried the project's guidelines and their work in it. Acting as if what she had just said didn't bother her at all, she lightly smiled, "Okay, so, the next question is, 'What does your partner aspire to?' You do know what that means right?" And just like that, Nikki was back.

Rodrick wasn't sure how to react to this. Sure, some of his friends had divorced parents but they were all guys who didn't care enough to begin with. But from the way she sounded just talking about her father, Rodrick could tell that it was all a façade she was putting up. He wasn't sure why she was doing it and part of him didn't want to question it. They had to work and that's what he came to do. He had three hours there and it was going to be dedicated to finishing part of the project. That wasn't his plan, but it was Nikki's and he didn't want to put any more crap on her plate to deal with.

He cleared his throat and nodded. "So, uh, what do you want to aspire to? Or whatever?" He could sense an awkward atmosphere in the air and tension rose with it. He ran fingers through his messy, dark brown hair as he waited for Nikki's response.

"I kind of really want to be a veterinarian." Nikki confessed, "I just really love animals- especially cats." She added, nodding. Her voice was different though, Rodrick noticed. It wasn't as confident sounding as it normally was. It was softer, more meek. That was another key point that proved she was troubled immensely by the situation with her father. Rodrick had been too enveloped in thought (something that surprised himself) to even write anything down.

"Are you going to write that down or just stare into space looking like a goof?" Nikki questioned with a tone that suggested she was defending something-or herself.

Rodrick didn't reply and he scribbled notes down on what she had just said. She didn't really describe her dream of being a veterinarian as much as she did to her other statements in response to the questions so that was simple. As he was looking down at the sheet of paper he had, he then heard Nikki burst in a rant.

"I mean, the least he could do is come up with a GOOD excuse! I'm not twelve anymore, I don't believe a crap word her says! And he could have the decency to call me instead of telling my mom who will only complain and whine! If he hasn't been in my life for six years, then it won't matter if I don't see him a weekend or not!" Nikki exploded, her eyes looking anywhere but back at Rodrick's eyes. "He's already screwed up, so seeing him one less weekend won't mean anything!"

Rodrick stayed quiet, not sure of what to say. He had never really learned how to deal with situations like this, despite all the lessons his mom gave him during his preteen years. Sure, he had ex-girlfriends rant about various topics but he always said the wrong thing. Besides, Nikki wasn't a girlfriend so he assumed his place was just to listen.

Nikki stayed quiet for a moment and she lifted fingers to her eyes, brushing away tears that dared to escape. "Sorry, I just had to get that out of my system." She responded after a moment of silence. "I know we're not close or anything, but thanks for listening." She offered a forced smile as she looked at Rodrick. "Can we- not talk about it though?"

"Yeah, I'm with you on that one." Rodrick coughed out, rubbing the back of his neck out of anxiety. He was glad he wasn't in a position to be yelled at and that Nikki was back to normal. Another silent moment passed the two until the corners of Rodrick's lips curved upward and revealed a grin. "So, a vet? That's it? Wow, I thought you had something better in mind like neurosurgeon- or whatever it's called." He teased.

Nikki laughed lightly and shook her head. "Seriously, thanks."


	7. The Heffleys

It was 8:15 A.M., five minutes after homeroom had been let out. Students escaped the clutches of their classrooms and were clustered together in an effort to make it to their lockers to head to their first class.

Rodrick had just gotten there. He had woken up late because his father had the day off, so he didn't bother waking him up. It didn't matter though; Rodrick was never the type of person to care for showing up for anything, really. It was in his nature and he wasn't about to start freaking out because he missed precious homeroom.

He dragged his feet along the tiled floor of the school building as he was still half-asleep. He was having a wonderful dream about being an A-list rock star with talented band members and beautiful roadies to do his bidding, but for some reason his body had jolted him up. His eyelids felt heavy and threatened to close completely every time he blinked and his hair- well, his hair looked the same. Untamed and certainly not combed.

But he finally made it to his locker, where he then lifted up his hand and rolled the knob within his fingers, turning it to his combination. He opened the door and then dunked his head on one of the shelves. Sleep sounded so good at the moment, despite the fact that the hallway was filled with chatter.

He jerked upward and his head hit the ceiling of his locker when he felt a tap on his shoulder. "Geez, what the-" He turned around, his eyes fully opened now, to see that it was Nikki who had tapped him. "Don't do that!" Even though there was a tinge of annoyance in his voice, he still seemed a little dazed as his normal hand expressions were sloppy and carelessly thrown around his personal space.

Instead of reacting hurt, Nikki lightly laughed. "Wow and you say I have a pole stuck up my- okay, not the point." She shook her head and the corners of her lips turned upward into a smile. "I just dropped by to remind you that we're meeting at your place today." Nikki poked Rodrick's in the middle of his chest when she spoke of his house. "Since we finished all of my questions, we should get started on yours.'

Rodrick was about to reply but he looked past Nikki and saw his friends grouped up in a crowd, walking right past the two. One of the guys noticed Rodrick and then tapped the teenage male in front of him, which led to a chain reaction of all of Rodrick's friends seeing the two talk. "Uh, yeah, got it, see you in class." Rodrick spoke in a rushed low tone of voice so only Nikki could hear. He quickly turned around and slammed his locker shut without even getting anything out. He readjusted the strap of his backpack on his shoulder and he walked right past Nikki, who stood in confusion.

"Uh, see you later?" She lifted up a hand to wave, but he was already caught up with his friends.

Rodrick merged himself within the crowd of his friends, who he immediately received playful punches from. "What the hell were you even doing with her?" Asked one of them. Many other questions boomed from his different friends until one of them shushed them. "Guys, it's obvious that he's just trying to score." A chorus of "ohs" came in response and more playful punches were thrown at Rodrick's arm. "Yeah, there's no way Rodrick would spend time with someone like that." Snickered a tall, lanky boy with a beanie hat.

Rodrick rubbed his arm and sighed softly. _If they only knew_, he thought as he shook his head lightly.

-x-

"And we're in here once again." Nikki commented as she stepped into the passenger seat of Rodrick's van. The bell had just rung three minutes ago, but Rodrick seemed to be in such a rush to get out of there. She was lucky that she was already packed to leave when he ushered her out. She slammed the door shut and kept her bag in her lap, her hands folded over it.

Rodrick merely nodded in response as he turned the key sideways to start the car. In no time, the two were out of the school zone and now heading to Rodrick's house.

"So.." Nikki raised one hand to tap on the dashboard. "What's your family like? How many siblings do you have again?" She was sure he had mentioned it at some point or another but she completely forgot. She also wanted to know what the whole deal was earlier, but that could be saved until they got to his house.

Rodrick kept his hands firm on the steering wheel and his eyes on the road as he responded, "Two little brothers; Greg and Manny. My dad has an obsession with playing war dolls and my mom writes some dumb column for the paper." That was his family in a nutshell, at least according to him.

Nikki nodded and found her eyes wandering throughout the interior of the van, examining it very thoroughly. It wasn't long before the van screeched to a stop in front of a modern suburban home, much like Nikki's. "Well, this is nice." She commented as she turned her body towards the window of the door, eyeing the house.

The moment the two stepped foot inside the house, Nikki was greeted by Rodrick's mother. She shook her hand and had a large grin on her face, as if she was excited for something. "Hi, I'm Rodrick's mother, but you can just call me Mrs. Heffley." She turned around and called out to her husband, "Frank! Rodrick brought home a friend!"

He replied with, "Okay, just tell them not to be too loud." This Frank seemed a bit uninterested.

"No you don't understand! This is a girl!" Mrs. Heffley continued to sound very excited and she gave Nikki one more smiley and said, "It's been a while since Rodrick has brought a girl home." She turned to look at Rodrick, "You didn't tell me she was a girl!" Then Mrs. Heffley waltzed off to the kitchen, leaving the pair alone in the living room of the house.

"Yeah, that was my mom." Rodrick shook his head. Even the way he spoke sounded like he was ashamed of her. "Uh, so do you want to work in here or in my room?" He rubbed the back of his neck.

"Why not your room? It would be interesting to see what your room looks like after seeing your van." A smirk appeared on Nikki's features but it disappeared once she began to follow Rodrick to his room, which was upstairs.

Stepping inside his room, she wasn't entirely surprised. It wasn't as messy as the van, but it did look dirty in certain aspects. She walked over to his bed and sat down, but when she did, she heard a small squeaking noise. She rose an eyebrow and stood up before sitting down again. Hushed whispers emitted from beneath the bed. "I think you have talking mice living under your bed." She stated as she poked the bed mattress.

Rodrick walked over to the bed and bent over. Just as he suspected. It was Greg and his chunky friend Rolley, or whatever his name was. "Get out!" He yelled in a stern voice with his finger shooting out to point towards the door. When they weren't moving, he stuck his hand underneath his bed and searched around until he found the collar of Greg's shirt. He dragged him out which led to Rowley following him. "I don't even want to know why you twerps were under there, just get out." Rodrick let go of Greg's collar and watched as he stood up and dusted himself off.

Greg didn't make any arguments and left the room with his friend quietly. It wasn't until a second later that he reopened the door and poked his head through. "Just so you know, he tends to not shower… or respect women." A devilish smile crossed the young boy's features as he closed the door once more.

"Ignore him, he's an idiot." Rodrick commented as he sat down on his unmade bed next to Nikki. She giggled and turned to face Rodrick. A light blush crossed her features when she realized how close the two were. She inched farther away, leaving Rodrick to wonder why he was hoping that she hadn't. His thoughts were interrupted when she spoke again.

She cleared her throat and said, "So, uh, let's get started.. First question…"


	8. Fears

Haha, it's me again guys! So, did anyone get the Rodrick Rules on DVD yet? I got it the day it came out. xD C: I actually made a thirty second music video to it using the chorus from Katy Perry's "Last Friday Night" song. xD I was bored! I might upload it to Youtube later actually.. Oh! And my family also got the Diary of a Wimpy Kid board game.. Have yet to play it, but it seems pretty darn fun! I think we all know who we would want to play. (; Anyways, this one is pretty lengthy so I hope I can keep your attention for nearly 2,000 words! Love you guys and thank you for reviewing and favoring this! :DD

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><p>From what Nikki saw, Rodrick's parents seemed to be all right. His mother looked to be a bit too eccentric for her tastes, but at least she cared about Rodrick's social life and about him in general. She hadn't even seen his father, but she was sure that he cared for him as well but was busy at the moment. At least he had both parents to be there for him, unlike her who only had a mother who tried her best but it sometimes wasn't even enough. But Rodrick had made them out to be like complete nutjobs after Nikki brought them up only once.<p>

"So, is your mom always that hyper active?" Nikki teased and she grinned afterwards. She looked around the van and noticed that it looked a bit cleaner from yesterday. She could actually see the floor below her from the passenger seat this time! And it didn't even smell like a horrifically mauled zombie this time. There was a hint of lemon and she guessed it was from the hanging car ornament from the mirror in the center of the car's roof. She turned her head over to look from behind and saw that drums still decorated the back of the van, but the clutter was indeed minimized. So he did make an attempt. She smiled lightly at this and looked back up to look at Rodrick as he responded.

"Hyper active? No, more like overbearing!" He exaggerated, "She thinks that I need 'direction' and a 'permanent path for my life', I mean, c'mon!" Rodrick stayed quiet for a while and drummed his fingers against the wheel of the car. "She's a complete control freak that always tries to bring the family closer, but it's not gonna work, y'know? We're all on different wavelengths, or whatever it's called." Rodrick then added, "But I mean, we're not a completely messed up family. Just different interests." When he added the last bit, it sounded like he was trying to save his family's image. He didn't necessarily want Nikki to think that his family was in ruins because they certainly weren't. "And my dad? He's all right. Better than my mom, I guess." Rodrick shrugged his shoulders.

"Oh, well, I mean they seemed nice." Nikki commented with a shrug of her own. "Every family has it's quirks and yours seem relatively normal.. With a fun twist." She grinned again as she scratched the back of her head.

Then Rodrick pulled the van up into the front of the garage. When he hit the brakes to stop the car, the van jerked forward for a bit because of the sudden motion, causing Nikki to nearly hit her face on the dashboard. "Dude, you seriously need better driving skills." She stated as she eased out of the car, carrying her bag with her. She closed the door shut and heard Rodrick's door shut just a second after hers. She walked over to Rodrick's side and met up with him. He once again, led her to the front door and even opened it for her.

She walked in and eyed the room. It was clean once more. The living room was completely empty of any people whatsoever. She wondered where everyone else. It was so quiet, unlike the day before where she heard Rodrick's mom bustling throughout the house and his dad working on something somewhere else. "Where is everyone?" She questioned, turning to face Rodrick while gripping her black backpack strap.

Rodrick eyed the hallway that led to the kitchen. His gaze shifted to the living room before them before finally looking at Nikki in the eyes and then he spoke, "Ohhhhh right, it's Thursday. Mom does some charity work for some old farts and I guess Dad is working late tonight."

"So we can work here for the time being, right?" Nikki asked as she looked down into her backpack. The inside of her bag began to rustle as she searched for the folder that contained all their work so far. After receiving a nod from Rodrick, she walked over to the couch and plopped down on it, lightly bouncing on it for a second. "Comfy couch." She smiled as she opened up the folder.

"Only for you- not." Rodrick snickered as he took a seat on the couch one seat away from Nikki. He didn't want to be too close to her, not after that awkward moment when they almost.. kissed. They hadn't leaned into each other on purpose but they were close enough to do so if they wanted to. Being the close to her made his stomach clench in what he thought was pain but now as he recalled, he wasn't so sure if it was pain after all. Thinking about that only made him feel a bit weird to be a seat away from Nikki herself.

Nikki too had been thinking about the situation as she lay in bed the previous night. A part of her wondered why she turned away. Another part of her scolded her for even thinking of leaning any closer. Rodrick was a friend- wait, could she call him that? He himself had never even considered her one (it seemed like it) but she couldn't help but consider him one. They talked in every class they had and now this project only seemed to bring them just a little bit closer. Maybe too close? She wasn't sure. "Okay, so we left off on question five yesterday! So question six asks, 'What scares you the most?'" Nikki looked up from the paper and at Rodrick. "This should be good."

"As if I would tell you." Rodrick huffed with a cheeky grin playing on his features, as if he was teasing her, which he actually was. This led to a pout from Nikki, who responded with, "C'mon! I told you mine! And it was kind of secretive.. Or whatever! So you better spill the beans you big jerk!" She hit him with one of the couch pillows beside her until Rodrick held his hands up and laughed. "Okay, okay! Geez. But this is only for the project!" Rodrick took a breath before responding with, "I'm scared of dying alone."

"Really?" Nikki asked with her eyes wide. She peered a little closer and scribbled down the answer on the paper.

Rodrick laughed and made a 'pft' sound with his lips. "Yeah right! I'm not going to tell you, dream on." Rodrick smirked and rolled his eyes, "Just make something up, I don't care."

Before Nikki could respond, a voice came from the stairs, "I could tell you!" Nikki turned around and saw a pre-teen boy, with a sneaky grin on his face. "If it's to help for whatever you're doing, I'll be glad to help!" He didn't completely look like a younger Rodrick, but they did share similar features.. Like their ears.

"You better not, doofus or I'm just gonna have to splurge on your secrets as well." Rodrick threatened and he raised from the couch with his knees on the seat. He gave a menacing stare towards the younger boy, who still had that grin on his face.

"Sure," Nikki smiled at Rodrick before turning back to the younger boy, "tell me what you got, uhh-"

"Greg." Piped the middle school student.

"That's it!" Rodrick jumped over the couch and ran towards the staircase, leading to Greg already dashing up the stairs. He began to yell, "He's scared of worms, tornadoes, and yeah, he is afraid of being rejected!" His words were spoken rather quickly, but Nikki got the basic ideas down. "Thanks!" She called from her spot on the couch but all she heard in response was a shut door and then the thumping of feet coming down the stairs. She turned to see Rodrick, who admitted defeat with a sigh. "You happy?" He questioned with a glare.

At that moment, the door opened and Rodrick's father walked in with his mother and baby brother in tow. "Oh, your friend is back! Nikki, right?" She gushed with a smile. "Are you staying for dinner?"

Two different responses were heard, one from Rodrick and one from Nikki.

"Sure, I would love to!"

"She has to leave before then."

"Nonsense! You're staying for dinner! I'll make spaghetti." She grinned at Nikki but then looked at Rodrick with a stern look as she adjusted her grip around the toddler.

-x-

So there they were, all sitting around the dining room table. It was nice to have the illusion that Nikki was part of a family for once. A traditional family anyways, where they actually ate at the table and not on set up tables in front of a TV. Even though Rodrick didn't like it so much, she sure did.

"This is good." She commented after swallowing a forkful of spaghetti. She smiled at Mrs. Heffley, who grinned in response. "Well thank you!" She beamed before twirling noodles around her own fork.

"So, uh, Rodrick," began Greg with a malicious smile growing on his lips, "is this your girlfriend?" He cooed as he let his fork lean on the rims of the bowl. "No, she's not, twerp." Rodrick growled, his brows furrowed in irritation.

"Hey! Not at the table and especially not in front of Manny!" Mrs. Heffley lightly tapped on the table to stop the tension between the brothers. She then turned to Manny with a smile and he responded by splashing his hands in his own tiny bowl of sauced noodles.

"So, what are your goals in life, Nikki?" Questioned Mr. Heffley, in hopes that Rodrick could perhaps learn from someone with potential. He tried that last time, but it backfired in his face. He hoped that this wouldn't result in the same manner.

"I want to be a veterinarian.. or a child therapist. Either one would be good." Nikki responded with a nod and a smile to show courtesy towards the man of the household.

"A veterinarian, huh? Now that's a goal!" Mr. Heffley looked at Rodrick. "See? You could learn something from someone who actually wants to go to college." He told his eldest son as he hung his fork over his bowl with noodles streaming from it. This earned a soft giggle from Nikki.

Rodrick rolled his eyes and looked at his father with a coy smirk. "Dad, thanks for the help and all, but I'm definitely going to be a rock star and make more than she," he pointed his fork at Nikki, "ever will in her LIFE. How's that for doctor school?"

"We'll see about that when I see your bum self out on the streets." Nikki responded with a smirk of her own on her features.

"In your dreams." Rodrick responded, using the same line as he had earlier.

_At this rate,_ Nikki thought as her heart sped up slightly after hearing Rodrick speak, _you just might be in one._


	9. Worth a Shot

on an unrelated note, does anyone have a tumblr? I would love to follow you. C:

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><p>Rodrick was a reckless, inconsiderate, and irresponsible youth. He rarely ever followed orders and when he did, he did it begrudgingly. He could never be taken seriously because he always had a sneaky grin on his features and a glimmer of mischief in his eyes. He had completely crazy goals and would talk about the strangest things. He wasn't as big as a playboy as he would make himself out to be.<p>

Despite all these flaws, Nikki still couldn't help but feel a rush of fluttering butterflies twirl around in her stomach when hearing his name. Her heart would beat louder every time a small smile would appear on his features. The part of her that fought her feelings was slowly losing the battle against the part of her that was growing to "like" Rodrick. Something had just drawn her to him. To her, it felt like the two really did have chemistry because their conversations flowed so perfectly. Of course, she couldn't tell him anything deep or personal but that didn't matter- at least not as much as it should. She thought that there was a slight chance of hope for her and Rodrick. He had smiled at her and would even wink from time to time. Her brain figured that she was taking these gestures out of context, but her heart had to believe.

Nikki's fingers grazed her locker's provided lock before twirling her fingers around the knob. The rusty locker door squeaked as she pulled it open. She unzipped her backpack and emptied two books and two spirals into the faded green locker. Her mind would usually be focused on what she would need for her upcoming class, but this time her thoughts were fogged with Rodrick as the topic. She wondered what their conversations would consist of and if she could get him to smile.

Before she could go even further into her thoughts (nothing perverse, of course), she felt a clanging noise emit from the locker next to hers. This caused her to quickly shut her locker and twitch in reaction to the sudden noise. Standing right before her was the young male she had been gushing about in her thoughts just seconds earlier. He had a grand smile on his face, as if an idea light bulb had blinked on inside his mind.

She couldn't hide her own large, goofy smile that played on her lips. She tried to tone down the smile, but her lips wouldn't let her. Thoughts of how embarrassing she probably looked quickly coursed through her mind. "What's up?" She asked, her tone surprisingly casual. If she couldn't keep her smile under control, then she might as well try to sound normal in her tone.

"Hey." Rodrick replied, equally nonchalant. His elbow rested against the locker as he stood in front of Nikki. He chuckled lightly at whatever he had been thinking and gazed at the floor. A grin grew on his features and he looked back up to Nikki. "I've been meaning to ask you something."

Who knew seven words could make her heart speed up so quickly? Her mind raced to the conclusion of this conversation. She was certain that he was going to confess his own feelings to her. While it seemed a bit out of character for Rodrick, she still had confidence that that was what would arise from the conversation. She could barely contain her excitement and it showed in her voice as it cracked, "What is it?"

Rodrick's hand lifted to ruffle his messy locks. He stepped an inch further, but that was a stumble on his part. However, to Nikki, it looked like he was bringing his body closer to hers. Her heart beat and beat and beat until it pounded against her chest with such fury.

It seemed like almost forever until he responded. He drew his body back and dropped his arm to his side before jamming both hands in his jeans' pockets. Then he spoke with a persuasive tone in his voice as well as a light burst of excitement, "See, you know Chad?"

Rodrick went on to tell the story of how this Chad fellow broke his guitar while trying to perform a trick he saw on TV, but Nikki hadn't really been paying attention. Her heart had just sunk what felt like a million miles below sea level. He hadn't been confessing anything! He was just telling her some stupid tale of a dumb friend she could care less about. She tried not to show her disappointment, but it was pretty hard. Her once bright smile deteriorated to a straight line. She nodded and looked down, avoiding his eyes. She didn't feel like crying but she could feel her throat tighten up as if she was going to. "So, your point is?" She didn't mean to sound as harsh as she did, but that's how it came out.

Rodrick didn't seem affected by this though as another charming grin appeared on his features. "Well, I know you have a guitar and well, we need a guitar.. so.."

So that's why he had even approached her. Nikki turned back to her locker, furiously turning the knob to gather her correct combination numbers. In her swift motions, she had skipped her middle number three times and thus led to her trying to budge her locker door open. She sighed turned to Rodrick. "Sure, sure you can borrow it." There was a tinge of annoyance in her voice as everything was just going wrong at that exact moment. She really just wanted him to leave so she could gather her things and focus on something other than the Heffley teen.

"Great, so I'll pick it up after school? Six?" Rodrick suggested as he stepped back with his backpack slung over his shoulder. Before she could even respond, a clicking sound emitted from his lips and he pointed at her with a grin. "Awesome, see you then." Then he turned around and headed off to the class the two shared.

Nikki didn't bother to wave. She turned to her locker again and finally opened it once more. She pulled out a book and a binder and slammed her locker shut. She clutched her supplies to her chest and followed in the same path he was on, but only because they had the same class.

She was bitter about the situation, but as she thought about it, she could use this to bring the two closer to the point where he would feel the same. It wasn't exactly a plan, but she hoped that if she lent her guitar to him that he would soon feel the same.

It was worth a shot.


	10. Practice Makes Perfect

If Nikki had been upset the day before, Rodrick hadn't noticed.

You see, while signs of pure heartbreak are evident to the naked eye of a _woman,_ they certainly aren't see that way through the eyes of a teenage boy. Or Rodrick, anyways.

The way her smile had just collapsed and folded into a strict, thin line had gone unnoticed. The way her eyes slightly widened with just the tiniest bit of tears growing in the corners were practically invisible. How she caught her breath and fumbled with the lock on her locker was considered _normal_ to Rodrick. He wouldn't have ever thought he would have been the one to cause her such distress, for the time being at least. He knew he was capable of doing so, having made one of his ex-girlfriend's cry because of his naivety in the language of girls, but would never think of himself as the culprit in this case.

And this all explained why it was so easy for him to just take the guitar from Nikki with ease after school, the day after he had asked her if he could borrow it. Once again, Nikki had stepped into his van and off they went to her house. The car ride, unlike the past couple of times, was awkward and extremely claustrophobic. Even Rodrick could feel the disturbed aura in the van, but he couldn't exactly tell what was causing it.

He cleared his throat, "How about some 'Jimmy Eat World'?" He questioned, ready to click the play button to initiate the band's CD. He glanced at Nikki, who was sitting in her seat with her arms crossed over her chest and her bag sitting on her lap. Her bottom lip stuck out, just a bit more than her top one, forming a pout. _Come to think of it_, Rodrick thought, _she hadn't really talked all day._

Rodrick wasn't sure what to say to coax her into spilling the beans. He was never entirely too good at situations like these and he hated awkward silences. Merge the two together and you have a VERY uncomfortable Rodrick. He turned back to the front of the car, muttering an "oookay", and pushed the play button. The volume had already been turned up all the way from this morning's jam session.

Rodrick and Nikki were friends; they had established that already without being so direct about it. It had just happened. Yet, Rodrick wasn't sure if he had the right to ask her what was up. Could he do that? He wasn't entirely sure if he wanted to her what was bothering her unfold in front of him.

Turns out, he didn't have to. Nikki was quiet for most of the way over to her house, only muttering along the lyrics to whatever song had been playing on the CD. Still, the awkward silence stuck, creating a heavy, horrible atmosphere inside the van. Rodrick was eager to leave, slamming the door shut and following Nikki to her room. She had snaked her way past her mother, who was in the kitchen already preparing dinner. Nikki walked in fast strides, as if she had wanted the exchanged to be over with as soon as possible.

Nikki had wanted Rodrick to see her the way she saw him- hell, she still wanted him to. But, like Rodrick, she wasn't sure how to approach the idea. She had never been with a guy like Rodrick before. She had only been in one serious relationship before, but the two were complete opposites. Besides, anything Nikki could possibly say would probably be taken as a joke by the male. But for the most part, she was still upset at the wrenching thought that he wasn't feeling the same way. It was painful, to watch the person you like go on oblivious to your feelings. Hearing him attempt to crack a joke in class just wasn't working, not this time. It just made her realize that she was stuck in the friend-zone. _Guys are right,_ Nikki had thought, _the friend-zone does suck!_

Nikki led Rodrick inside her room, grabbing her guitar from its leaning position on the corner of her wall. She awkwardly stuck her hand out to give it to him. "You don't need an amp right?" A couple of strands of her fringe fell in her face a she asked him. She brushed the intruding hair away from her face as he grabbed it and shook his head.

"Nah, Chad just broke the guitar." Rodrick informed her, taking the guitar in his hand, making sure to hold it carefully. The two stood there, silence hanging in the air. Nikki looked from Rodrick, to the carpeted floor. She wasn't sure what else to say.

Rodrick cleared his throat. He had a habit of doing so to break any situations that were.. uncomfortable, to say the least. "Well, I'll show my way out." He nodded turning around to walk towards the door. Maybe had hadn't thanked her properly? Maybe that's why she was upset. He stopped at the doorway of her room. "Thanks Nikki." He told her, avoiding eye contact with her. Apologies and thank you's weren't his forte. "I'll bring it back.. uh.."

"Just go." Nikki commented, a small smile on her features. There was a hint of pink stretched across her wan cheeks, but Rodrick wouldn't have noticed that- at least, Nikki thought so.

-x-

"All right man, you scored!" Chad cheered, taking the guitar from Rodrick's raised hand.

"What did I tell you guys?" Rodrick laughed as he stood in the middle of his house's garage. His whole band was there, ready to practice. They had to be ready to perform and without a guitar, they wouldn't be able to get anywhere.

Chad eyed the guitar. "Not as good as Bessy, but," Chad gave a satisfied nod, "it'll do."

Rodrick eyed Chad with a raised eyebrow but shook it off as he walked over to his worn out drum set. "Okay, let's start with 'Diper Bomb' and then we'll go with 'Train-Wreck Diper'." The fellow teens nodded in response with their respective instruments in hand.

Rodrick slapped his wooden drumsticks together to count down to the beginning of the song. After four hits, Chad slammed his fingers against the strings of Nikki's guitar as he made the way for the other's to play their own instruments. It was a messy display. After Chad, the singer murmured words into the microphone and the bassist plucked at his bass's strings. Rodrick had followed in suit, his foot hitting against the lever to hit the bass drum and his drumsticks lightly tapping the cymbals besides his drumset's toms.

Everything went well, as well as things could get for a unorganized garage band. The singer hadn't coughed through the entire song, or mispronounced some of the words. The bassist stayed on rhythm. Rodrick had kept his beat up rather nicely.

Everything was sounding perfect- until the end.

Chad had apparently NOT learned from last time's little "adventure". As soon as Rodrick had stopped hitting the mid-tom of the drums, signaling the end of the song, Chad brought the guitar above his head and then dropped it to the cement floor. The guitar screamed out in utter pain with clang, its strings snapping apart as the neck broke into two. The amp only amplified the noise to the point where it rang static in everyone's ears. The guitar was broken- unfixable.

Chad only stared, dumbfounded at what he had just done. "Wait, what?" He asked, looking around, only to see his bandmates with their jaws wide open in utter surprise.

Rodrick stood up from his spot in front of his drums. His eyes were wide and his mouth hung ajar. He stepped away from his drumset, unsure of what he was actually seeing. "D-Did you j-just.." His voice trailed off as he stumbled over to Chad's spot in the garage. The guitar was there all right. In pieces, at least. Rodrick looked at the broken instrument and then at the guitarist, who continued to hold the guitar.

The room was quiet, save for Rodrick's stuttered mumblings.

Then, the singer, Ben, yelled, "All right, Chad! Way to break that guitar!"

Rodrick spun faster than he thought possible. "_Way to go Chad?_" He repeated the male, his voice accusing and raw with anger. "You're seriously congratulating him?" Rodrick turned back to Chad, "Dude! That wasn't my guitar!"

"But I've seen guys on TV do it all the time." Chad argued weakly.

"They have _extras_, Chad, _extras._" Rodrick strained out his words, speaking as if he was talking to a little kid. "Guys! We have to practice! What are we going to do without a guitar? We're dead, done for, over!" Rodrick gripped at his hair, already stressing out over the fact that they wouldn't get any better for any hopeful gigs. Rodrick's eyes, having already gone back to their normal state, widened again. "What am I going to tell Nikki?" He wasn't speaking to anyone in particular.

What WAS he going to tell Nikki?


	11. Heart to Heart

"Nikki, you see there was an accident.." Rodrick shook his head in disapproval as he stood in front of the bathroom mirror.

"You remember Chad right? Funny story about Chad and your guit- gaaaah!" Rodrick groaned and lightly hit his head against his reflection on the mirror.

Just the day before, Chad, his _genius_ guitarist, decided it was a great idea to reenact something he saw on TV by smashing Nikki's guitar to smithereens. Now Rodrick was left to pick up all the pieces, physically and metaphorically. From the way Nikki spoke about her guitar when she had brought up her hobbies when they were doing that lame project, it seemed she really did care for it. She had mentioned it being a gift, Rodrick thought. He couldn't really remember or focus on anything but an apology. He felt like he owed it to her, seeing as he had asked her for it to begin with. But, Rodrick was never good with apologies. He always said the wrong thing and felt like an idiot doing so.

"Nikki, there's no easy way to say this, but-"

"Rodrick! Hurry up!" Greg yelled from the other side of the bathroom door. "You're not the only one in this house, you know!" He banged his fists on the door, waiting for Rodrick to open it.

Rodrick swung the door open and pushed himself past Greg. He wasn't in the mood for harassing him, not today. His stomach was hurting, but he knew it wasn't because he was nauseous. His stomach was clenching tight as he left the bathroom and went straight out the door, ignoring his mother's call for breakfast. He wasn't hungry. The pain in his stomach only increased the closer he got to school in his van. His muscles were even clenched up and he felt his mind go numb. He was surely going to see Nikki, that he knew was true.

It almost felt like butterflies were fluttering against each other, slapping one another with the harsh movements of their wings. Rodrick knew this was mainly because he was nervous, as he had always felt that strange feeling when he was anxious. But it had never been this harsh before.

Rodrick wished his locker wasn't so close to Nikki's, otherwise he might have been able to escape her wrath after he told her what had happened. Rodrick expected for Nikki to walk up to him and ask him about something unrelated. But his body was just pulling himself towards her. He didn't feel entirely in control of his body as he walked up to her while she stuffed her backpack in her locker. He noticed that she had to tiptoe to put in on the provided shelf in the worn out locker and a slight smile appeared on his face. He tried to shrug it off, but he couldn't do it.

Nikki turned to Rodrick, a small smile on her lips as she saw him. "Good morning Rodrick." She greeted in a sing-song kind of voice. She seemed happy, which was an improvement from the day before. Whatever was going on with her was surely passing, he figured. "You need something or..?" She asked as she noticed a zoned out expression on his features.

Rodrick scratched behind his ear and ran his hand through his messy, uncombed hair as he began to speak. "What're you doing later?" The words had just blurted out of his mouth. It had just come out! He pressed his lips together with his brows furrowed as he waited for a response as he leaned against the locker next to her.

Nikki seemed taken back as she clutched a binder and a textbook to her chest. Her eyes had a glimmer of joy in them and her small smile had been eagerly replaced by a large grin, exposing her pearly white teeth. "No, I'm not.. Why?' She couldn't hide the excitement in her voice, no matter how hard she tried.

"Maybe we can, I don't know, go somewhere?" Rodrick crossed his arms as he looked from her eyes, to the tiled floor.

Nikki bit her lip, but the curve of her smile was still evident. "Yeah, definitely!" She nodded quickly. "We can go to the park near my house!" She was already exposing her enthusiasm over what she saw a as a 'date'.

"Sure, sure.. Six?" Rodrick couldn't believe what his lips were uttering.

"Yeah.." Nikki nodded, giggling gleefully. "My mom lent me her car today, so.. You can just drive to my house at six and we'll just.. walk from there?" She suggested, in which Rodrick nodded a yes to. "Okay! Well, uh, see you in class!" Nikki could feel every aspect of her body glowing with happiness. Her body had tightened with complete excitement! She couldn't even completely feel her legs moving as she walked to pre-calculus.

Rodrick continued to lean against the locker, completely amazed at what he had just done. His mouth hung slightly open as he thought. Didn't they say that when you spoke freely, without thinking of what you were saying, it meant that whatever you said was what your heart really wanted? Rodrick felt his heart racing at what felt like over a thousand miles an hour.

Rodrick had never seen Nikki in the kind of light he had now exposed her to. She had just been a friend, a girl he could count on.. for answers anyways. The two picked at each other light-heartedly. But over the past couple of weeks, he had seen a totally different side of her, a side that he hadn't seen at school. She liked the same kind of music as he did and she even played an awesome instrument. She had grown easy to talk to and her jokes were.. actually funny. Now that he had done the deed of asking her out, everything about her was different.

As he remembered her in his mind, he could easily recognize the shine in her eyes whenever she accomplished something. The way her hair flowed and followed her every movement gracefully. How her laugh was, how her voice orchestrated itself..

Rodrick leaned with his back against Nikki's locker, banging his head on the metal exterior. He had a date with Nikki tonight. He smiled lightly as he brought himself off the lockers to head off to class, empty-handed.


	12. Insert Cheesy Title Here

AN: GUYS. I AM SORRY FOR NOT POSTING FOR SOOOOOO LONG. ONE YEAR? TWO!? I JUST. I'M SORRY. ;_; Even if I haven't been updating, people have been sending me messages, asking when I will continue and visiting the story! How crazy! You guys always have been and always will be awesome! Did anybody see the new Wimpy Kid movie? I personally loved it! Hope this chapter is okay and I hope to get back into the swing of things! C':

Excitement couldn't even begin to cover the rush of feelings flooding Nikki's veins for the rest of the day. Her stomach had been bursting with fluttering butterflies and raging fireworks as anxiety overtook her. Nikki had been so happy, so eager for the evening ahead of her that she could hardly stop smiling. Her cheeks had begun to hurt after smiling for so long, causing her to stop every now and then. She was definitely in the puppy-love state of mind and her brain was just running on thoughts of Rodrick. A part of her felt incredibly stupid and naïve for thinking of such an unruly, annoying, and immature boy for such a long time but another side of her welcomed it with joy because she knew he could be so much more than the rugged exterior he displayed for the world.

Nikki could hardly wait for the bell to ring to send all the teens home and away from school and when the drowned out sound filled the classrooms and halls, she practically ran out and swiftly packed her things into her backpack. In little to no time, she was out into the field and heading to her car to go home. When she stepped through the door, her mother questioned why she looked so amused and content, to which Nikki replied with a, "Just something awesome."

The teenager couldn't bring herself to sit still. She paced around her room until deciding to concentrate on her reflection in her vanity mirror and fix any hair strand out of place and her makeup, which had grown smudged and appeared caked on over the long hours at school. Her appearance caused her to frown for a bit before doing something about her appearance, as in brushing her hair down and setting a headband on and redoing her make up entirely. She hadn't killed much time, but it had kept her preoccupied.

She threw herself on her bed, bouncing up and rustling the comforter below once she did so. She patted her stomach in a rhythmic matter, following the tune of "I Fought the Law" by The Clash. She was just so nervous, excited, joyful, anxious. All those range of emotions caused what felt like bubbles to pop and grow inside her. Nikki was growing afraid she'd say something stupid and ruin everything. She managed to calm herself down after repeating a mantra over and over. "It's just like hanging out. We're just hanging out. No big deal." She spoke out loud, unaware her mother was pressing an ear to the door outside out of sheer curiosity with an amused grin on her features.

Her mother loved her daughter, no question about that. Usually, the older woman would be overprotective and almost overbearing on the young Nikki but not this time. This time, she figured, she would take a step back and just let her daughter have fun with whoever she was going out with. She trusted her daughter enough to know she wouldn't go out and do anything stupid. Nikki had never been that kind of girl. So when Nikki quickly paced out of her room with a small satchel around her shoulder after hearing the doorbell ring, she simply waved with a smile and told her to have fun.

Nikki's breath caught in her throat and her heart beat heavily against its prison inside her when she opened the door to see Rodrick Heffley leaning by the side of her house. His eyes peered up at the sound of her opening the door, his fringe falling below his eyebrows as his head was a bit tilted downward.

"Hi." Nikki greeted, trying to tone down the large grin on her face but failing to do so. "Ready to go? It's not that far of a walk." Nikki pointed out, more concerned about the walk over to the park than the actual park itself. She would hate for an awkward silence to fall between them or for her to say something dumb.

"Yeah." Rodrick nodded, bringing himself off the wall with his lips popping together at the end of his word. Rodrick, on the outside, looked cool and collected but was just as much as a wreck on the inside. His mind was filled to the brim with ways on how to let Nikki know his friend broke her guitar. He just couldn't find the right words to speak. Rodrick had never been a man of words, always fumbling with what he tried to say when it came down to serious business.. Unless it had something to do with his band. That was something different. Girls, on the other hand? They were gentle and fragile but at the same time intimidating and quite.. scary. He could almost imagine Nikki turning into a raging monster, flames spewing from her mouth when she learned that her precious baby had been broken into pieces. Not only that, but he was also wondering what the heck he would even say to the girl. He always had something to say, stupid or not, but with the change in atmosphere, he wasn't sure if he'd even be able to muster a single topic.

The two took off down the sidewalk, walking a bit awkwardly beside each other with a silence setting in between them.

"So, uh.." Rodrick cleared his throat, hand shoving into his dark washed denim jeans.

Nikki looked up from the smooth sidewalk, eyeing the questionable shirt Rodrick was wearing. It had been a plain white shirt, neckline loosened up a bit by obvious wear and tear, but there was the "Loded Diper" signature in the middle. The words had been written on with Sharpie and were fading quite a bit.  
>"How long've you been with the band anyways? Played any good shows?" Nikki asked, trying to keep any sarcasm from spilling into her voice as she was serious.<p>

"For a while.. Few months. Maybe a year. Can't really remember, actually.." Rodrick's voice drifted as he reached a hand up to scratch at the nape of his neck. "We've played some gigs. Really good ones too. Not going to lie, I've had a few girls come at me for autographs." At the end of his last sentence, his confidence wore down, obvious in how his tone had changed from strong to weak. He had regretted letting the last sentence slip through his lips. What kind of idiot said that on a DATE? Plus, it was a huge lie at that. The only fans they had were other guys and this one girl who already had her heart set on their singer.

"Really now?" Nikki laughed lightly, noting his blatant lie and shoving him just a bit. "Tell me when you guys play next time. I'd like to see my guitar in action, y'know." She commented, a soft grin on her lips.

"Oh yeah, definitely! I will definitely put you down on the V.I.P. list.. When I get around to it, y'know." Rodrick had no control over the words that fell from his mouth. The cocky side of him was kicking in with just a bit of humor in him and that wasn't who he wanted to be at the moment, surprisingly. "Yeah.. That guitar of yours it pretty sweet." He added quickly.

"Really? Glad it's doing you guys some justice!" Nikki told him, "Now I really can't wait to see you guys play.. Even if you might suck. Which you might not.. I'm just saying. You play drums, right?" Nikki knew the answer, but she just wanted to ask for the hell of it.

"Yeah but I'll do vocals sometimes. I tried teaching my brother and his dorky friend one time.. Worst idea ever. My mom thinks that I've got to take him under my wing or something." Rodrick shrugged, unsure why his mom would want him to do that in the first place. He wasn't exactly the best role model on the planet, he even knew that!

"A mini Rodrick? I would pay to see that transformation." Nikki told him with an entertained smile on her lips. "That's just what moms do I guess, y'know? They have it built into them or something."

"Like robots." Rodrick commented, laughing just a bit at the image of his mom plugging herself in through a socket in her back every night. He wouldn't be too surprised if his dad operated that way too.

"Yeah, like robots! Or cyborgs, or.. whatever."

The two reached the park in minutes and simply sat in the swings, rambling off from topic to topic, some serious and some not so much. The words had flowed so easily from their lips and both were surprised at how well they were acting to the other. Nikki had pictured her becoming a flustered mess while Rodrick imagined Nikki slapping him in the face over something he said. Everything had been going just perfect, up until..

"So, hey, how 'bout I swing over tomorrow to see you guys play?" Nikki asked, hands clutching the metal rings holding up the worn out yellow swing.

"Uh, sure, sure.. Sounds great." Rodrick managed a grin, though inside, turmoil was brewing.


	13. Guess Who's Back?

"You told her she could come over to see us _PLAY_?" Ben, the singer, in a disgruntled manner grunted out as he practically ripped the wispy strands of his messy hair out. "What were you thinking?" He exclaimed, nearly flinging the mic stand to the cement ground as he approached Rodrick in an exasperated fashion.

"I didn't think she'd go through with it!" Rodrick sputtered, raising his hands up to his chest in defense.

"Dude, does your girlfriend hit hard?" Chad, the guitarist, questioned, bringing his back off the wall with a tint of worry in his eyes.

"She's_ NOT_ my girlfriend Chad!"

"Oh c'mon Heffley, don't pull that BS on us. Whatever man, it doesn't even matter. The point is, this buffoon," Ben pointed a finger out to Chad, "messed her guitar up. Ergo, she'll mess_ HIM_ up. Can't play a show without a guitar."

"Ergo?_ Really_?" Rodrick rolled his eyes, a sigh leaving his lips as he began to squeeze the skin between his eyebrows with his thumb and index finger. "She's a girl not a killing machine. Maybe it'll be fine! It'll be fine, trust me."

Ben snickered in a sarcastic manner, showing he was not enthused with the way Rodrick was seeing things. "If someone broke my stuff? I'd be pretty pissed."

Rodrick groaned loudly, lazily spinning in a circle as he wondered what he was going to do.

A clashing sound erupted from the closed garage door followed by an exaggerated, "Helllooooo? Anybody home?"

Hisses of curses flew out from the frozen boys.

"You talk to her!" "No you!" "You're the one who broke the damn thing!" "Shut up!" "You go!"

"You guys are sounding more like a cult than a band right now, just saying." Nikki bellowed out, "Hurry up and let me in!"

They still didn't let her in, ignoring her playfully issued demand and continuing to whisper taunts at each other.

Then, Mr. Heffley emerged from the fence to the backyard, toting a large green garbage bin behind him. The lid was partially closed but what caught Nikki's attention was the stem of a familiar instrument poking out.

"Hi Mr. Heffley," The greeting sounded confident at first but it degraded as the fear of her assumptions coming true emerged, "uh, what's that?"

The man stopped carting the bin at her question, setting it up right before looking into what she was talking about in the first place. "This?" He sounded confused as to why her interest was piqued by something in their garbage but nonetheless, he flipped open the lid, revealing more of the mangled instrument. "Probably Rodrick." He shook his head with disapproval as he muttered, "I have no idea where this kid gets it from." Before he had a chance to place the lid back on the bin, Nikki came dashing, her feet practically treading fire on the Heffley's front lawn. Quivering hands flung the guitar from the trash bin, only managing to pull out the top part of the instrument. Her jaw dropped. She didn't cry but her eyes felt hot and her whole face burned with a fiery hue.

"You're dead, dude." Chad told Rodrick in a hushed voice as the silence settled.

Rodrick pushed up the garage door, crawling out before it fell back down on him. He stood awkwardly in his driveway, furiously tugging at his shirt in an effort to give his hands something to distract his head with.

Nikki whipped her head in his direction, her eyebrows knitted tight and her lips in a strong scowl. "You said you'd take care of it!" She screamed, almost astounded by how desperate her voice sounded.

"Uh, what?" Mr. Heffley was deeply perplexed, trying to piece two and two together.

Nikki stomped towards Rodrick, holding up the half of the guitar she had to his face. "This is _NOT _taking care of it!" She shoved it in his arms, leaving him no choice to respond by cradling it. He remained silent, eyes looking anywhere but into hers. "I trusted you with it! I told you how much that meant to me and you- _youuu_," She grunted from her throat out of sheer frustration, "you're ridiculous!" She almost shoved him but her hands remained balled into fists. Now she felt like crying, the searing tears pooling up at the rims of her eyes. "I trusted you and I liked you and this-_ THIS_ is what you do?" She rubbed her eyes, taking a few steps back before uttering, "Just.. Don't talk to me anymore." She left the stunned Rodrick, fleeing to her car and driving off as a mess.

Rodrick felt like he couldn't do anything else but his legs took him to the trash can anyways. He practically lurched over into the bin to retrieve the other half of the guitar, taking both parts in both hands inside. Why did his heart hurt? It felt like it was swollen and pulsating with prickling pain. His chest felt heavy and his cheeks were scorching. He felt awful. No, he felt like a miniscule idiot. Without a plan. Regardless, he walked into his room and slammed the door shut.

"Does this mean practice is over?" A naïve Chad quested Ben, who merely shrugged in response, unknown of what Rodrick would be up to.


	14. F-F-Fight!

"Nikki."

"No."

"Nikki."

"No."

"_Nikki_ – "

"Am I going to have to call the cops or somethin'? Leave me alone."

Worn out boots smacked against the pavement with every single step, her bones rigid with an irate blood stream that rushed to her cheeks in a sweeping red flush. One hand clutched her backpack with enough forced to drain the color from her knuckles. She looked straight ahead, trying to ignore the gigantic mess of a van that was slowly following her on the curb. The wheels squeaked and whatever died in the van was leaking out its gruesome smell through the slits of its closed doors. What was the hardest to ignore was Rodrick droning out her name every ticking second.

"I just want to talk." He groaned, one hand lax on the steering wheel while the other gave him some leverage over the "center console" (which was really just a mini-fridge taped to the bottom of the van). "And er – _apologize_." He churned out the word with the nod of his head, almost as if it pained him to even say the word in the first place.

Nikki groaned right back, the guttural sound rocketing out her throat as she threw her head back in exasperation. "Well, I don't. Go home. I'm walking." She shrugged her bag back onto her shoulder. She could have popped in her ear buds and drowned Rodrick out but truthfully, she wanted to hear him apologize. It wouldn't make her any less upset but… It would be sort of redeeming. Maybe.

Rodrick puckered his lips, rolling his eyes away from Nikki and holding back a grunting snort. He was trying. Really, really trying. For the first time. Ever. And he was met with rejection. He continued to drive along her side for a few more seconds before finally shoving the gear in park and getting out of the van entirely. A passing by car honked at the sudden stop and he just threw his hands up, calling out, "Yeah, yeah, whatever!" He dashed around the front of the van towards Nikki, the puzzled girl with a quirked brow having stopped to see just what the hell he was up to. She'd taken off walking again soon enough, leaving Rodrick to catch up and try to attempt matching her pace.

"Stop. Go home. Now. Leave. Shoo." Nikki fanned him away with the waves of both her hands, still not breaking eye contact with the sidewalk ahead.

"Look, I'm sorry, okay? I was an ass. I should have told you and not just thrown it away." Rodrick mustered a jog around her, striding backwards so he could face her while he was a few steps ahead. "Can you just stop being pissed at me?"

She stopped dead in her tracks, her eyes throwing daggers. "Do you seriously think that's going to just magically make everything better?"

"I'll buy you – I'll buy a new one! Maybe. I can't promise anything." He wasn't actually sure he wanted to commit to throwing cash – cash he _DIDN'T_ have – away on a guitar he wouldn't even see ever again.

"It's not even about the guitar, Rodrick! Well, sort of. I don't know." Nikki sighed, running both her hands through her tangled hair before dragging her fingers down her cheeks. "It's about you lying, and yeah – about you being a complete and total ass." She was struggling to get her words out right. She didn't want to croak, not when she was too livid at Rodrick. "All you wanted was the guitar all along! You didn't care about going out on some stupid walk. It was just to 'ease the blow', right? Because poor old me couldn't bear the thought of my smashed guitar without a little romance!" There was a poison tint to her voice and she was losing control. She choked and sniffed, rubbing her nose with her back of her hand. "I don't care if you don't like me the way I like you." Lie. "I really don't." Lie. "I just – I thought we were friends, Rodrick. Friends don't do this kind of crap to each other." Her cheeks were hot and her eyes were glassy. She didn't know whether she wanted to punch him in his arm or scream. Maybe both? Nah.

Rodrick was silent. He couldn't think of a single word to say. He blinked dumbly, his mind still trying to get over the hurdle of Nikki having a crush on him. And how he messed it up royally. He didn't need a punch from her to feel like he'd gotten a swing in the gut. He felt nauseous and sick. His mouth was slightly parted, as if he was going to say something but he was oddly quiet.

Nikki shook her head, breezing past Rodrick but holding back from shoving him like she wanted to. "Just leave me alone." She mumbled as she walked away.

Rodrick grit his teeth, his nose scrounging up in frustration as he shook his fists to the sky. One of those very fists slammed into his van, rattling the vehicle just a tad bit and leaving the upset teenager with a rattling pain in his hand that he tried to shake off with the flick of his wrist. He hissed out and watched Nikki walk away, hoping that maybe, just maybe, she'd look back.

She didn't.


End file.
